Painter dies under train

Victor Mira, hailed as one of Spain's finest artists, died under a train near his German home in an apparent suicide, hours after an accidental house fire destroyed some of his work, police said yesterday.

Around noon on Tuesday, a short-circuit in the kitchen of his home near the southern town of Breitbrunn set off a blaze which was quickly brought under control but caused damage estimated at 50,000 euro ($A82,600).

A few hours later, the 54-year-old appeared to throw himself under a regional train, a spokesman for Bavarian police said.

Born in Zaragoza, northern Spain, Mira fled the Franco dictatorship and emigrated to Germany in 1968. Since then, he divided his time between his home in Germany and one in Barcelona.

His long-time companion is considering returning Mira's body back to his family in Spain, according to the Spanish consul in Munich. Zaragoza officials are planning a memorial ceremony.

Mira, who was best known for his abstracts and use of sombre colours, considered his work as a confrontation with death.

Last February, the artist was called "the most important Spanish artist alive" during the annual Madrid International Art Exhibition.

Some art critics considered him a successor to Francisco de Goya, a painter from the same region who died in exile in France.

Miguel Marcos, a Madrid art gallery owner who had displayed Mira's work, said Mira was in a creative phase and that they were planning his next exhibition at ARCO.

Mira was obsessed with his work and "lived reclusively in his studio like a monk for his art", he said.